During the production of The Shipping News, Kevin Spacey, famed for his impersonations, took to imitating Lasse Hallstrom.
The director, while flattered, insisted that Spacey's accent was more German than Swedish. As a parting gift, however, Hallstrom made a short film for Spacey, in which he is seen furtively sneaking around in lederhosen, and reveals himself to be secretly German.
[Hallstrom, who hailed from some fifteen generations of Swedish sea captains, was the perfect director for the film. "He's from Sweden, he knows cold and water," producer Linda Goldstein Knowlton remarked. "This story is in his bones." For one thing, he had actually read
The Ashley Book of Knots, which E. Annie Proulx quotes at the beginning of each chapter. ("It's a tough read," he joked.) And, to top it off, his mother's forebears actually tricked ships to run aground, just as Quoyle's did: "One of my ancestors was supposedly decapitated for his crimes," Hallstrom recalled. "I have pirate blood. Isn't that cool? I hope it's true."]
Sources
Premiere, Dec. 2001
